WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WAFD. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stephens raised their target price on WaFd from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.00.

WaFd Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of WAFD opened at $37.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.83. WaFd has a 12 month low of $25.78 and a 12 month high of $38.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $389.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.43 million. WaFd had a return on equity of 9.44% and a net margin of 13.97%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Analysts predict that WaFd will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WaFd

In related news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of WaFd stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 100,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WaFd

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAFD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,902,461 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $229,408,000 after purchasing an additional 125,020 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in WaFd by 31.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,274,665 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,430,000 after acquiring an additional 305,942 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in WaFd by 7.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,248 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,700,000 after acquiring an additional 84,155 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in WaFd by 1.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 728,619 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,824,000 after acquiring an additional 9,262 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in WaFd by 2.2% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 606,140 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,596,000 after acquiring an additional 12,910 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

WaFd Company Profile

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts.